The hearing was as kangaroo as Skippy and neither in Briggs’ reputational interest nor the alleged victim’s.

There seemed no desire to establish the veracity of the allegations, only to rush past them in the party’s interest.

But Davidson insisted a Tory MSP being investigated by his own party’s executive branch was “non-partisan and apolitical”.

Outrageous guff, Trumpian in its mendacity.

The woman herself had withdrawn from the process on the sound advice of Rape Crisis Scotland, who called it “intimidating” and “inappropriate”. Witnesses from her side also refused to attend.

Incredibly, in the age of #MeToo, the Tories had initially demanded the unrepresented victim be cross-examined by Briggs.

Even in the Jurassic park of Toryland, such an adverserial approach to justice can’t be called effective or humane.

On Monday morning, the Conservative press office emailed journalists to say Briggs would give a press conference after the hearing. This implied Briggs would be cleared, hours before the “independent” hearing had reached a verdict.

Despite requests, Rape Crisis Scotland were not told the make up of the hearing panel or whether any had undergone training in sexual harassment complaints.

As a lesbian, unmarried mother-to-be, Ruth Davidson is a symbol for how far the Tories have come in Scotland - but she needs to do more (Image: PA)